Chapter 165: Chapter 165 Mishap

Qi Wuya saw his guise stripped away and paused for a moment before bursting into reckless laughter, “Whether you recognize me or not, what is there to fear? Sooner or later, this world will belong to me, Qi Wuya.”

“You, Qi Wuya, have failed to make a name for yourself in Beiqi and have set your sights on a small country like Puluo, amassing the military forces of small countries to combat the great ones. Such a strategy of using an egg to smash a stone truly has opened my eyes,” remarked Tan Yunjian with heavy sarcasm.

Tan Yunjian continued with biting irony: “A snake trying to swallow an elephant due to greed often chokes; you use Puluo as a stepping stone, but who knows whether it will backfire on you one day?”

Qi Wuya chuckled lightly, “A man facing death, this is no longer a concern for you to consider!”

But Tan Yunjian laughed as well, “But you are panicked!”

“Me, panicked? Ha, what do I have to panic about?”

“You’re panicked that the Puluo King will betray you!”

“You think he dares?”

Qi Wuya truly didn’t think the Puluo King had the guts!

Without him, the Puluo King would still be munching on mud in the streets!

“You are too arrogant!”

Tan Yunjian scoffed coldly: “Qi Wuya, the saying ‘Cleverness may overreach itself’ is something you should understand better than I.”

“Enough with the nonsense! I don’t need you to lecture me!”

Patience wearing thin, Qi Wuya barked angrily: “Archers!”

On the rooftops of the palaces near the Imperial Garden, suddenly appeared countless guards holding bows and arrows.

Their loaded crossbows took aim at Tan Yunjian and his companions.

Clearly, they had been lying in wait here for quite some time.

“I want to see if you can still manage to laugh now.”

Qi Wuya’s hatred made his teeth itch.

Yet, the group of people in front of him didn’t show a trace of panic on their faces.

Could it be that they still had a trick up their sleeve?

Qi Wuya, sharp and suspicious, scrutinized Tan Yunjian more closely in his eyes.

Emperor He was cunning and shrewd.

He had to be even more cautious than when dealing with others.

Tan Yunjian didn’t speak, but a cold female voice came from behind him.

“Qi Jiu!”

Qi Wuya turned at the sound.

There stood Sang Yan, holding her sword across his path, with a pale-faced guard beside her who had been seen with Emperor He before.

One of Emperor He’s men?

Narrowing his eyes, Qi Wuya looked away to focus on Sang Yan, whose neck was drenched in fresh blood.

The blood had already soaked her clothes.

It was a ghastly sight.

“Qi Jiu, we need to talk.”

Sang Yan, her expression frosty, stated her intention.

Qi Wuya, cold and fierce, thought bitterly: He should have known she would turn and threaten him! Damn it! Such ingratitude!

“Mr. Jiu, someone from Da He infiltrated our guards, I suspect he is the Emperor Da He–”

Han Chen was about to reveal his suspicion–

“Waste!”

Qi Wuya, disappointed and angry, cut off Han Chen.

He looked at him, his eyes colder and more terrifying: “What have you been doing? You can’t even keep watch over one woman!”

Han Chen quickly shut his mouth.

He really was a waste, and he had let down Mr. Jiu’s trust.

Sang Yan didn’t pay much attention to the master-servant duo; her gaze fell upon the red sea of flowers nearby and Han Mo, who was in front of it.

With such a significant incident having occurred in the Imperial Garden, how could Han Mo still have the mood to play the zither amidst the flowers?

Unless there was something strange about that music!

In novels, it was common for protagonists or villains to use piano sounds, poisonous flowers, and the like to bewitch minds and kill!

At this thought, Sang Yan saw her chance. While Qi Jiu was distracted, she rushed forward, chopped the zither to pieces, as well as those oddly colored fresh flowers.

The turn of events happened too quickly!

For a moment, no one could react!

“No!”

Watching the destruction of the Fan Yin Flowers, Han Mo cried out in anguish.

“Sang Yan!”

Qi Wuya stepped forward to intercept.

Sang Yan once again placed her sword against her own neck.

“No, Sang Yan, don’t be foolish–”

Qi Wuya was so infuriated by her that his temples throbbed with pain.

He wanted to kill her, but when he saw the guards ready to strike, he opened his mouth to say, “Don’t hurt her. I want her alive.”

Hearing Qi Wuya’s command, the guards were momentarily unsure of what to do.

Should they strike or not?

They surrounded Sang Yan, exchanging uncertain looks.

At this moment, He Ying had fought his way to Sang Yan’s side, his gaze fierce, with a protective stance.

Qi Wuya eyed the man beside Sang Yan, frowning, “Who are you?”

He Ying didn’t wish to reveal his identity and thus remained silent.

Qi Wuya didn’t ask further, assuming he was a guard sent to rescue Sang Yan. He turned back to Sang Yan, a mix of love and hatred in his eyes, “You always surprise me like this.”

To think she knew the technique to “Sever the Zither and Exterminate the Flowers”!

What a sharp and intelligent woman!

And it was only such a woman who deserved to appreciate the vast landscapes and eternal dominion by his side!

After his admiration, however, came anger and jealousy, “Is Emperor Da He really worth risking your life for? Am I, Qi Wuya, not even worth a glance from you?”

Countless women in the world wanted to please him.

Yet this woman before him simply scorned him.

Even if he offered her the whole world!

“I’ve already said–”

Sang Yan closed her eyes, and tears fell as she choked out, “You killed Jiang Ke, and I will never forgive you. If you have any true feelings for me, then let us go. I promise on behalf of Emperor Da He that we will forever make peace with Beiqi.”

“Too bad, Sang Yan. Peace is not what I seek.”

Qi Wuya sighed, his gaze suddenly sharpened and he made a swift move to seize the sword from her hand.

He Ying was about to defend–

But Tan Yunjian was quicker and with his sword drawn he attacked, “Villain, pay back Jiang Ke’s life!”

He wanted to fight Qi Wuya.

However, with Han Chen by his side, how could he allow Qi Wuya to be put in danger?

“Mr. Jiu, step back. I’ll handle this.”

Han Chen clashed with Tan Yunjian in combat.

Qi Wuya’s face darkened as he turned his attention back to Sang Yan, “I have tolerated your recklessness time and again, and now you dare to ruin my grand plans. Since you don’t wish to live, I will grant you that wish.”

He freed his hand, turning towards Sang Yan.

He even wanted to kill her with his own hands.

But in truth, he wanted to capture her rather than let her die so easily.

He needed to kill Emperor He, to do it in front of her, to kill the man she loved!

He wanted to imprison her for a lifetime, to torment her forever, to make her life worse than death!

Qi Wuya was near madness, his eyes full of a maniacal desire to possess and a thirst for blood.

Sang Yan was frightened by his frenzy, staggering to hide behind He Ying.

He Ying was severely injured, but for the sake of Sang Yan, he still forced himself to keep going.

It was the power of love that sustained him through more than twenty exchanges with Qi Wuya.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Garden grew increasingly tense.

He Ying and his companions were surrounded in the very center of the Imperial Garden.

Including Sang Yan, they were merely thirteen in total.

Across from them, Qi Wuya not only had guards but also numerous archers on the rooftops.

Thinking of resistance was like striking a stone with an egg?

It was sheer folly.

Qi Wuya laughed aloud, having regained his composure from before.

He walked opposite Tan Yunjian, a proud smile on his lips, “Emperor He, there is a great disparity in strength between our sides, why do you insist on resisting obstinately? For Ah Yan’s sake, if you surrender now, perhaps I can leave you and your subordinates with intact corpses.”

Ah Yan?

Sang Yan couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over.

This man was truly ruthless and cruel, yet childish, still trying to use this term of endearment to drive a wedge between her and He Ying!